Summary Care Record

The NHS in England is introducing the Summary Care Record, which will be used in emergency care.

To ensure those caring for you have enough information to treat you safely, the record will contain information about any medicines you are taking, allergies you suffer from and any bad reactions to medicines you have had.

Your Summary Care Record will be available to authorised healthcare staff providing your care anywhere in England, but they will ask your permission before they look at it. This means that if you have an Accident or become ill, the doctors treating you will have immediate access to important information about your health

About your Summary Care Record

Your Summary Care Record contains important information about any medicines you are taking, any allergies you suffer from and any bad reactions to medicines that you have previously experienced. Allowing authorised healthcare staff to have access to this information will improve decision making by doctors and other healthcare professionals and has prevented mistakes being made when patients are being cared for in an emergency or when their GP practice is closed.The availability of Summary Care Records will improve the safety and quality of your care.

Your Summary Care Record also includes your name, address, date of birth and your unique NHS Number to help identify you correctly.

As a patient you have a choice:

Yes I would like a Summary Care Record – you do not need to do anything and a Summary Care Record will be created for you.

No I do not want a Summary Care Record – click here to download the opt out form. Please complete the form and hand it to a member of the GP practice staff.

If you need more time to make your choice you should let your GP Practice know.

Additional copies of the opt out form can be collected from the GP practice, printed from the website www.nhscarerecords.nhs.uk or requested from the dedicated NHS Summary Care Record Information Line on 0300 123 3020.

You can choose not to have a Summary Care Record and you can change your mind at any time by informing your GP practice.

If you do nothing we will assume that you are happy with these changes and create a Summary Care Record for you. Children under 16 will automatically have a Summary Care Record created for them unless their parent or guardian chooses to opt them out. If you are the parent or guardian of a child under 16 and feel that they are old enough to understand, then you should make this information available to them.

You can find out more by contacting www.nhscarerecords.nhs.uk or telephone the dedicated NHS Summary Care Record Information Line on 0300 123 3020.